Ever since Dom launched it, I’ve really enjoyed Belleau Kitchen’s Random Recipes challenge, where he invites fellow bloggers to use various techniques of random selection to choose a recipe from their collection of cookbooks and blog it. It often results in some rather unusual recipes, the ones you probably wouldn’t choose to make if you were flicking through the book and choosing normally. It’s a crapshoot, and I love it!

But I’ve never managed to take part, not least because I often have a pile of books waiting to be reviewed in order, and when I have the time and inclination to try a new recipe, I turn to that pile.

So when he posted this month’s challenge – to share some photos of our cookery books – I knew it was time to participate.

I adore books and I particularly adore cookery books. “Food porn” is an overused term, but it’s still good shorthand to describe the almost visceral feeling of satisfaction to be found in flicking through page after page of recipes that make your mouth water with anticipation. Isn’t that pretty much what porn does?

Having amassed far too many cookery books already, a couple of years back I agreed a moratorium on buying any more for at least a year. Of course, this coincided with the (lovely) situation of having publishers offer me review copies via the blog. So the collection continues to expand at vastly increased rate. I did send two large boxes of cookery books to two charity fundraising projects last year, but it’s definitely time for another round of thinning the cookery book shelf!

So here are my cookery book shelves, nooks and crannies.

The main unit (above) has books two deep. I have no idea what’s in there any more…

That hideous cushion is one I found in a samples sale at previous job, when I needed something for my back. Hey, it’s ugly but it only cost me 50p! I love the chair though, with it’s corduroy cover. We inherited it with the house…

Plus I have two other small collections of more recent additions – the one on the right is the “to review” set – which were both piles on the floor until our recent spate of de-cluttering and tidying.

I was just about to say how lovely that cushion looked!! I am amazed at how tidy it all looks (comparatively) since youve often told me how messy your home is… Or did you tidy just for us? I’m loving the 2 deep too. I’m totally getting like this now. Need a library really. Thanks so much for entering and finding the time to squeeze me in! Xx

We’ve been doing major major major decluttering for the last few weeks. We’ve got rid of probably a skip’s worth from the house, most of which from the floor of this room alone. Much has gone to charity, a huge amount to recycling too and a smaller volume into the bins week on week. Less than a month ago, the only floor space in that room was a narrow path from kitchen door (on one corner) through to living room and door on another corner. Reaching the cookery book shelf was a challenge of stepping through piles and finding tiny foot holds… So it’s an enormous enormous difference. All the better reason for me to take photos and join RR #18!

It’s a curse I can relate to. I look at some books and think they contain recipes I already have or nothing outstanding but somehow, in the end, I relent. I love books too. I love the warm they bring to a room. Of course being a hoarder I haven’t been able to part with even the most useless of cookbooks.

I really had to last year as I received soooo many… my sister and some friends did a charity fundraiser last year, so I gave a pile of new ones to her for the auction. And there was another charity fundraiser book exchange at same time, so a large box went to that. But I know I can be more ruthless and get rid of more, whilst I’m in the right frame of mind…

Oh the curse of the two-deep bookshelf. You know something’s not right when you can’t remember what’s behind the books in front. But I’ve got several bookshelves like that as well and I’m learning to live with it. And no cushion that costs 50p is ugly in my opinion.

Aah, well, the 50p price tag definitely endeared the cushion to me. I found it hideous but… over a few years of using it at work, to reduce back ache, I kind of became accustomed to it, you know…?
And yes, never good to have double depth book shelves…

I can relate to having too many cookbooks but I cannot stop myself. Although I am trying to make an effort and not get too carried away. I particularly love an old cook book but there again I am dying to get hold of Fuchsia Dunlop’s latest edition.
Your shelves are well filled, just what I like to see!